Pakistan ranked second-last on nuclear safety

Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) index has ranked Pakistan second behind North Korea as having the least secure nuclear material, consequently posing the most risk, according to experts.The index, which gave rankings on a scale of 100, mentioned Australia as having the tightest security controls among nations with nuclear material.The Nuclear Threat Initiative, in a project led by former US senator Sam Nunn and the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to draw attention to steps that nations can take to ensure the safety of the world’s most destructive weapons.The 32-country list is topped by Australia, followed by Hungary and Czech Repubic. The United States is ranked 13 among the nations and India is among the last -- just above Iran, Pakistan and North Korea.“This is not about congratulating some countries and chastising others. We are highlighting the universal responsibility of states to secure the world’s most dangerous materials,” said Nunn, who has long been active on nuclear safety.Nunn, a Democrat who represented Georgia in the Senate from 1972 until early 1997, voiced concern that the world had a “perfect storm” – an ample supply of weapons-usable nuclear materials and terrorists who want them.“We know that to get the materials they need, terrorists will go where the material is most vulnerable. Global nuclear security is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain,” he said.The index, timed ahead of the March summit on nuclear security in South Korea, called for the world to set benchmarks and to hold nations accountable for nuclear safety.It also urged nations to stop increasing stocks of weapons-usable material and to make public their security regulations.